Brahms in Mexico

I am pleased to present this video of my June 16 performance of the Brahms "Double" concerto with my brother, violinist William Harvey, with José Luis Castillo and the Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco at the Teatro Degollado in Guadalajara, Mexico! The Teatro Degollado was built in 1866 during the reign of Emperor Maximilian. June 16 was the eve of our parents' 50th anniversary; the concerts were dedicated to them.

Royal Encounters in Mexico

Last week I visited my brother William in Mexico, where he has been serving as concertmaster of the Orquestra Sinfónica Nacional in Mexico City. We did a lot of fairly typical Mexican sightseeing (including Chapultepec Castle where Emperor Maximilian and Empress Carlota lived) and eating, mostly beyond the scope of this blog post, but the evening of June 6 was far from typical: a performance for HI&RH Archduke Carlos Felipe, a grandson of Emperor Bl Karl of Austria-Hungary and great-great-grandnephew of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico, at his Mexico City home, for an audience that also included his wife, his two sons, and his cousin HRH Prince Alexander Margrave of Meissen, head of the Royal House of Saxony! While I have had many special experiences as a musician, it's hard to imagine that anything could top playing Bach, Kreisler, and the Kaiserhymne for such an audience. Afterwards (as well as the day before when we were getting ready) I had ample opportunities to talk to all the royalty present, who were impeccably gracious and appreciative: a monarchist musician's dream. I felt that my brother and I got to be the latest in a long line of musicians who have performed for members of the Habsburg dynasty over the centuries. Archduke Carlos Felipe has done a great deal to rehabilitate the image of Emperor Maximilian in Mexico and it was a tremendous honour to be his guest.

With Archduke Carlos Felipe and his wife Annie-Claire in front of a portrait of Emperor Maximilian, June 5

Portraits of Maximilian & Carlota, and their piano, at Chapultepec Castle

My brother and I with Prince Alexander of Saxony, Margrave of Meissen

With Archdukes Louis-Damien and Julian

With Archduke Carlos Felipe and a portrait of his ancestor Emperor Charles V

Altar of the Kings, Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral, June 7

Anniversaries 2017

This year features many major round-numbered anniversaries, most of them bad. Going backwards, we have the 50th of the colonels' coup in Greece and King Constantine's subsequent unsuccessful counter-coup which led to his exile and the eventual fall of the monarchy, obviously the 100th of the Russian Revolution (both of them), and the 150th of the regicide of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico. For my Roman Catholic friends, the 100th of Fatima can be celebrated but the 300th of the founding of the Grand Lodge of London and the 500th of Luther's revolt (about which I'm ambivalent myself) will be more sinister occasions.

On the bright side, we can celebrate the 150th anniversaries of Canadian confederation and of the Austro-Hungarian compromise that created the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as well as the anniversaries of the births of two of my favourite royal women in European history, Queen Frederica of Greece (1917-1981) and Empress Maria Theresa (1717-1780). This summer will also see the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of the House of Windsor (formerly known as Saxe-Coburg & Gotha) in the United Kingdom.

Enemies of Monarchy, Heroes of Modernity

I sometimes find it depressing how in so many countries, even non-Communist ones, men I despise are widely and even officially revered:

United States: Thomas Paine (1737-1809), Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), and other "Founding Fathers"
France: the leaders of the French Revolution in general, though it's interesting that no individual is really singled out
Poland: Tadeusz Kościuszko (1746-1817)
Hungary: Lajos Kossuth (1802-1894)
Mexico: Benito Juarez (1806-1872)
Italy: Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882)
Czech Republic (whose very name is offensive): Tomáš Masaryk (1850-1937), Edvard Beneš (1884-1948)
Greece: Eleutherios Venizelos (1864-1936)
Ireland: Eamon de Valera (1882-1975)
Egypt: Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918-1970)

Even in England, Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) still has a much better reputation than he deserves, with that disgusting statue outside Parliament.

That's how it is when one is on what the world considers to be the "wrong side of history"...

Imperial Mexico, and other blogosphere highlights

I usually try to avoid posts that simply link to specific entries of blogs that I already feature permanently on the side of my own blog, but sometimes my fellow royalist bloggers (most of whose blogs are rather more colourful than mine) are so inspiring that I have to make an exception. Andrew Cusack has a great post on Mexico's imperial heritage encompassing both Emperors, Augustin (1783-1824) and Maximilian (1832-1867). Coincidentally, Mr Cusack's excellent "Mexico Week" has immediately preceded my own Dallas Symphony Orchestra's presentation of "Latin Masterworks" under the direction of the young, beautiful, and gifted Mexican conductor Alondra de la Parra with whom it has been delightful to work.

Also recommended are Elena Maria Vidal's account of her meeting with Archduke Imre of Austria and Prince Bertrand of Orléans-Braganza (Brazil) (of which I couldn't help being a little envious) and Gareth Russell's 255th birthday tribute to Marie Antoinette.